2 Samuel 9 in Hebrew, English & Transliteration

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Tenakh Study · 2 Samuel 9:1–13

2 Samuel, Chapter 9

שמואל ב ט

With the kingdom secure, David asks whether anyone is left of the house of Shaul, so that he can show him kindness for Yehonatan’s sake. Tziva tells him of Mefiboshet, Yehonatan’s lame son, hiding in Lo Devar. David restores Shaul’s land to him and seats him at the king’s table for life.

9:1And David said, “Is there yet any who is left of the house of Shaul (Saul), that I may show him kindness for Yehonatan’s (Jonathan’s) sake?”

Vayomer David haḥi yesh-od asher notar leveit Sha'ul ve'e'eseh imo ḥesed ba'avur Yehonatan.

אוַיֹּ֣אמֶר דָּוִ֔ד הֲכִ֣י יֶשׁ־ע֔וֹד אֲשֶׁ֥ר נוֹתַ֖ר לְבֵ֣ית שָׁא֑וּל וְאֶעֱשֶֹ֚ה עִמּוֹ֙ חֶ֔סֶד בַּעֲב֖וּר יְהוֹנָתָֽן׃

9:2And there was of the house of Shaul a servant whose name was Tziva (Ziba). And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, “Are you Tziva?” And he said, “Your servant is he.”

Uleveit Sha'ul eved ushemo Tziva vayikre'u-lo el-David vayomer hameleḥ elav ha'atah Tziva vayomer avdeḥa.

בוּלְבֵ֨ית שָׁא֥וּל עֶ֙בֶד֙ וּשְׁמ֣וֹ צִיבָ֔א וַיִּקְרְאוּ־ל֖וֹ אֶל־דָּוִ֑ד וַיֹּ֨אמֶר הַמֶּ֧לֶךְ אֵלָ֛יו הַאַתָּ֥ה צִיבָ֖א וַיֹּ֥אמֶר עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃

9:3And the king said, “Is there not yet any of the house of Shaul, that I may show the kindness of God unto him?” And Tziva said unto the king, “Yehonatan has yet a son, who is lame on his feet.”

Vayomer hameleḥ ha'efes od ish leveit Sha'ul ve'e'eseh imo ḥesed Elohim vayomer Tziva el-hameleḥ od ben Lihonatan neḥeh raglayim.

גוַיֹּ֣אמֶר הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ הַאֶ֨פֶס ע֥וֹד אִישׁ֙ לְבֵ֣ית שָׁא֔וּל וְאֶעֱשֶֹ֥ה עִמּ֖וֹ חֶ֣סֶד אֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיֹּ֚אמֶר צִיבָא֙ אֶל־הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ ע֛וֹד בֵּ֥ן לִיהוֹנָתָ֖ן נְכֵ֥ה רַגְלָֽיִם׃

9:4And the king said unto him, “Where is he?” And Tziva said unto the king, “Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lo Devar (Lo-debar).”

Vayomer-lo hameleḥ eifoh hu vayomer Tziva el-hameleḥ hineh-hu beit Maḥir ben-Ami'el beLo Devar.

דוַיֹּֽאמֶר־ל֥וֹ הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ אֵיפֹ֣ה ה֑וּא וַיֹּ֚אמֶר צִיבָא֙ אֶל־הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ הִנֵּה־ה֗וּא בֵּ֛ית מָכִ֥יר בֶּן־עַמִּיאֵ֖ל בְּל֥וֹ דְבָֽר׃

9:5Then King David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lo Devar.

Vayishlaḥ hameleḥ David vayikaḥehu mibeit Maḥir ben-Ami'el miLo Devar.

הוַיִּשְׁלַ֖ח הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ דָּוִ֑ד וַיִּקָּחֵ֗הוּ מִבֵּ֛ית מָכִ֥יר בֶּן־עַמִּיאֵ֖ל מִלּ֥וֹ דְבָֽר׃

Commentary · 9:1–5

“Is there yet any left of the house of Shaul?”

In the ancient world a new dynasty hunted down the old one. David goes looking for the old one in order to be kind to it. The reason is a covenant: Yehonatan had made David swear, “you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever” (1 Samuel 20:15), and they swore it “in the name of Hashem” (20:42). Radak says David remembered the oath now that the wars were over, and that “the kindness of God” (9:3) means “because of the oath of God that was between them.” Hebrew lesson: חֶסֶד (chesed) appears three times in nine verses (9:1, 3, 7). It is covenant loyalty, kindness that keeps a promise after the person you promised is gone. Nobody would have blamed David for forgetting. Chesed is what you do when nobody would blame you.

Radak says Lo Devar is simply a place name. But the Talmud hears the words, lo davar, “no thing”: Tziva later tells David that Mefiboshet is “without a thing,” without Torah, and David finds him “full of a thing,” full of Torah (Shabbat 56a). The lame man hiding in Nowhere turns out to be a scholar.

Mefiboshet before the king

9:6Now when Mefiboshet (Mephibosheth), the son of Yehonatan, the son of Shaul, had come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, “Mefiboshet.” And he answered, “Behold your servant!”

Vayavo Mefivoshet ben-Yehonatan ben-Sha'ul el-David vayipol al-panav vayishtaḥu vayomer David Mefivoshet vayomer hineh avdeḥa.

ווַ֠יָּבֹא מְפִיב֨שֶׁת בֶּן־יְהוֹנָתָ֚ן בֶּן־שָׁאוּל֙ אֶל־דָּוִ֔ד וַיִּפֹּ֥ל עַל־פָּנָ֖יו וַיִּשְׁתָּֽחוּ וַיֹּ֚אמֶר דָּוִד֙ מְפִיב֔שֶׁת וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִנֵּ֥ה עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃

9:7And David said unto him, “Fear not; for I will surely show you kindness for Yehonatan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Shaul your father; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”

Vayomer lo David al-tira ki asoh e'eseh imeḥa ḥesed ba'avur Yehonatan aviḥa vahashivoti leḥa et-kol-sedeh Sha'ul aviḥa ve'atah toḥal leḥem al-shulḥani tamid.

זוַיֹּאמֶר֩ ל֨וֹ דָוִ֜ד אַל־תִּירָ֗א כִּ֣י עָשׂה֩ אֶעֱשֶֹ֨ה עִמְּךָ֥ חֶ֙סֶד֙ בַּֽעֲבוּר֙ יְהוֹנָתָ֣ן אָבִ֔יךָ וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֣י לְךָ֔ אֶֽת־כָּל־שְׂדֵ֖ה שָׁא֣וּל אָבִ֑יךָ וְאַתָּ֗ה תֹּ֥אכַל לֶ֛חֶם עַל־שֻׁלְחָנִ֖י תָּמִֽיד׃

9:8And he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I am?”

Vayishtaḥu vayomer meh avdeḥa ki fanita el-hakelev hamet asher kamoni.

חוַיִּשְׁתַּ֕חוּ וַיֹּ֖אמֶר מֶ֣ה עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ כִּ֣י פָנִ֔יתָ אֶל־הַכֶּ֥לֶב הַמֵּ֖ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר כָּמֽוֹנִי׃

Commentary · 9:6–8

“A dead dog such as I”

Mefiboshet comes in afraid. He is the grandson of the king David replaced, lame since the day the news came from Yizre’el (4:4). David’s first word is his name and his second is “Fear not”; then three gifts: kindness, his grandfather’s land, and a seat at the king’s table “continually.” Mefiboshet answers, “a dead dog as I am.” Thirty years earlier David had said the same words to Shaul: “after whom do you pursue? after a dead dog” (1 Samuel 24:14). David knows what it is to be hunted. Now he is the king, and he does the opposite of what was done to him.

In chapter 4 we met the Talmud’s picture of Mefiboshet as David’s teacher in Torah, whom David consulted before every ruling (Berakhot 4a). Read with this chapter, the “dead dog” at the king’s table was the man who kept the king honest.

At the king’s table

9:9Then the king called to Tziva, Shaul’s servant, and said unto him, “I have given unto your master’s son all that pertained to Shaul and to all his house.

Vayikra hameleḥ el-Tziva na'ar Sha'ul vayomer elav kol asher hayah leSha'ul uleḥol-beito natati leven-adoneḥa.

טוַיִּקְרָ֣א הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ אֶל־צִיבָ֛א נַ֥עַר שָׁא֖וּל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֑יו כֹּל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר הָיָ֚ה לְשָׁאוּל֙ וּלְכָל־בֵּית֔וֹ נָתַ֖תִּי לְבֶן־אֲדֹנֶֽיךָ׃

9:10You therefore, and your sons, and your servants, shall till the land for him, and you shall bring in the fruits, that your master’s son may have food to eat; but Mefiboshet your master’s son shall eat bread always at my table.” Now Tziva had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

Ve'avadta lo et-ha'adamah atah uvaneḥa va'avadeḥa veheveta vehayah leven-adoneḥa leḥem va'aḥalo uMefivoshet ben-adoneḥa yoḥal tamid leḥem al-shulḥani uleTziva ḥamishah asar banim ve'esrim avadim.

יוְעָבַ֣דְתָּ לּ֣וֹ אֶֽת־הָאֲדָמָ֡ה אַתָּה֩ וּבָנֶ֨יךָ וַעֲבָדֶ֜יךָ וְהֵבֵ֗אתָ וְהָיָ֨ה לְבֶן־אֲדֹנֶ֚יךָ לֶּ֙חֶם֙ וַאֲכָל֔וֹ וּמְפִיב֙שֶׁת֙ בֶּן־אֲדֹנֶ֔יךָ יֹאכַ֥ל תָּמִ֛יד לֶ֖חֶם עַל־שֻׁלְחָנִ֑י וּלְצִיבָ֗א חֲמִשָּׁ֥ה עָשָֹ֛ר בָּנִ֖ים וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים עֲבָדִֽים׃

9:11Then Tziva said unto the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so shall your servant do.” “As for Mefiboshet,” said the king, “he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.”

Vayomer Tziva el-hameleḥ keḥol asher yetzaveh adoni hameleḥ et-avdo ken ya'aseh avdeḥa uMefivoshet oḥel al-shulḥani ke'aḥad mibenei hameleḥ.

יאוַיֹּ֚אמֶר צִיבָא֙ אֶל־הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ כְּכֹל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְצַוֶּ֜ה אֲדֹנִ֚י הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ אֶת־עַבְדּ֔וֹ כֵּ֖ן יַעֲשֶֹ֣ה עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ וּמְפִיב֗שֶׁת אֹכֵל֙ עַל־שֻׁלְחָנִ֔י כְּאַחַ֖ד מִבְּנֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

9:12And Mefiboshet had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Tziva were servants unto Mefiboshet.

VeLimfivoshet ben-katan ushemo Miḥa veḥol moshav beit-Tziva avadim liMfivoshet.

יבוְלִמְפִיב֥שֶׁת בֵּן־קָטָ֖ן וּשְׁמ֣וֹ מִיכָ֑א וְכֹל֙ מוֹשַׁ֣ב בֵּית־צִיבָ֔א עֲבָדִ֖ים לִמְפִיבֽשֶׁת׃

9:13So Mefiboshet dwelt in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem); for he ate continually at the king’s table; and he was lame on both his feet.

UMefivoshet yoshev biRushalayim ki al-shulḥan hameleḥ tamid hu oḥel vehu piseaḥ shetei raglav.

יגוּמְפִיב֗שֶׁת ישֵׁב֙ בִּיר֣וּשָׁלַ֔םִ כִּ֣י עַל־שֻׁלְחַ֥ן הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ תָּמִ֖יד ה֣וּא אֹכֵ֑ל וְה֥וּא פִּסֵּ֖חַ שְׁתֵּ֥י רַגְלָֽיו׃

Commentary · 9:9–13

At the king’s table, as one of the king’s sons

The last words of the chapter are the lame feet. Scripture wants us to hold both pictures at once: the king’s table, and the man who cannot walk to it on his own. It is not the end of the story. Tziva will later slander Mefiboshet during Avshalom’s revolt, and David will divide the land between them (2 Samuel 16:1–4; 19:24–30). The Talmud is hard on David for this: Rav says he accepted the slander, Shmuel defends him, and when David said “you and Tziva divide the land,” a heavenly voice answered, “Rechav’am and Yarov’am will divide the kingdom” (Shabbat 56a–b). Even a king’s covenant kindness has to be guarded against the next whisper.

This chapter is the Gospel told in advance. A king, out of covenant love for someone else, seeks out a crippled member of the enemy’s house hiding in Nowhere; he calls him by name, tells him not to fear, restores his inheritance, and seats him at the royal table as a son, for life. Yeshua told of the master who filled his table with “the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind” (Luke 14:21), said that “the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), and promised his disciples, “that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom” (Luke 22:30). We come to the King’s table as Mefiboshet did: for someone else’s sake, lame on both feet, and welcomed “as one of the king’s sons.” Our Statement of Faith says that through Yeshua “we are brought nearer to the Father.” The Torah’s own word for it is chesed: a promise kept to the children of the man you loved.

Sources & method

Hebrew text: The Masoretic text with vowels (nikkud) and cantillation marks (ta’amim), as published on Chabad.org. Every verse was checked character by character against Chabad’s Tenakh. Where the written text (ketiv) differs from the reading (qere), the reading is shown and the written form follows in small type.
English translation: The King James Version (public domain), lightly modernized by Benei Avraham: “thee/thou/ye” become “you,” older verb forms are updated (“hath” to “has”), and archaic words are replaced only where the meaning would otherwise be unclear. People and places carry their Hebrew names, with the familiar English name in parentheses the first time on each page (e.g., Shaul (Saul)). The Divine Name (יהוה, “the LORD” in the KJV) is written “Hashem”; “God” (Elohim) is unchanged. Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible.
Transliteration: Produced from the Hebrew with the open-source hebrew-transliteration library, adapted to Sephardic/Israeli pronunciation and reviewed by hand: ḥ for Chet and Chaf, tz for Tzadi, k for Kuf, and the Divine Name read “Adonai.” Names are capitalized.
Commentary: Written for our Wednesday Tenakh study from a Messianic Jewish perspective, in line with the Benei Avraham Statement of Faith. It reads the passage first in its Torah setting, then with the Sages, and then with the witness of the Brit Hadashah. Its sources include the Talmud and Midrash, Rashi, Radak, Metzudat David, Rambam, the First Fruits of Zion End of Days lessons, and teachings of Rabbi Efraim Palvanov and Ariel Cohen Alloro. Numerical readings (gematria) are offered as hints, not proofs. It is shown by default; tap Commentary to hide it.
Hebrew font: SBL Hebrew, by the Society of Biblical Literature.

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Sources & method